For the last six years or so, David Benjamin Sherry's photographs have been making quite a splash in the art world. And for the last year and a half he's been making waves in the fashion world as well. And now thanks to Neville Wakefield and Shea Spencer of AFG Management (an agency known for helping art photographers into the commercial world), you can see David’s work in the pages of the world's premiere fashion magazines, such as Vogue Hommes International, i-D, VMAN, GQ Style, and New York magazine. Now in the process of putting together his first book of photographs, the artist reflects on the dualities of artwork and commercial work, and the source of his inspiration. Johnny Misheff

JOHNNY MISHEFF How has working commercially affected your own artwork?
DAVID BENJAMIN SHERRY It's been really interesting to work with magazines and commercial jobs and at the same time making my art. I approach the two very differently, they are two very different types of work. Fashion is lighthearted and fun for me. While making my art is way more self-reflective. I tend to travel alone and work alone when making my art. But on the other hand, sometimes I enjoy working with a team, so fashion is a good outlet for that. I like to approach fashion like filmmaking, planning shot by shot. And it's usually working in a manner where the project has to get finished by the end of the day. So it's also working with daily deadlines, which is great for me to bring into my art practice, time management.

JM I'm sure it's helping you to grow, professionally speaking...
DBS Yeah, it's all about prioritizing now. It's not like I have this completely free existence like I did in my early twenties like, Oh, I'm gonna go travel somewhereanytime I want and float around making my art. There are only so many months out of the year that I can do that now. Working in both fields keeps me on my toes and I stay super busy. But sometimes it's like, okay enough! I have to make my art. I need it. It's all about finding a balance.

JM I can't imagine you not being able to have that outlet. It must be hard to juggle it all.
DBS For sure, especially this past this year, it's wild, because I have my first New York show coming up in September. So I have all these photo trips I am about to make and new ideas that are about to be executed. I love this period before making new art—it’s a lot of thinking to get into this creative mind space. And I have my first published book coming out in September as well!

JM Fantastic! Tell me about it.
DBS It's an exciting book, I’m really happy with how it's turning out. It's being published by Damiani Editore, based out of Bologna. They approached me this past summer because they had seen some of my art and commercial work. They told me they'd like to include some pictures from my recent exhibit in Berlin and other artwork from the past years alongside some of the fashion stuff. I've been going through everything these past months with the book's designer and editor, putting the pieces together and seeing it all in a book form. It's interesting because the fashion work and my artwork really speak to each other. I think with fashion, there are technical hurdles that I've had to climb over. And now that I've gotten past those, I can make my own world within fashion and really make pictures that have my voice in them. I think it's a good time to be working in both fields.

JM You do a lot of installations. You really take somebody to a place that you create and take their picture there.
DBS Yeah, it's like taking them out of reality in a sense. It's spending time with them in this other world. When photographing, I love seeing people go into daydream type reality and perform for the camera. I love when subjects can lose themselves with me and really get into it. When shooting my art, I sometimes build sets and make my subjects up into fantastical characters where I do my own set building, makeup and what not. And now, commercially, because my own artwork is based out of this self-created world, magazines have been giving me a lot of freedom. They'll give me a suitcase of clothes, and they tell me to just dress my friends up and go out and shoot them. They trust me to just go and do it. I've been so lucky to be given such incredible freedom.

JM Do you have a muse?
DBS I do have my many muses. Sometimes boyfriends. I've done a lot of work recently with my friend/assistant Grier Patterson, who’s about 21 years old. Grier is a beautiful, smart, energetic guy. He's got a really old soul, which I'm so drawn to in people. He also physically looks like he's from another time. He can really wear a leather jacket well. He's so open and comfortable with himself. He'll do anything, get naked, go crazy. I also like to work with my best friend and inspiration, Raina Hamner. She’s amazing to photograph and loves to perform. She’s an incredible artist herself.

JM How are you on collaborations?
DBS They are definitely a lot of fun. Living life with my friends is so inspiring, and collaborating with them is just necessary, as most of them are very creative people. But sometimes I need to be alone and enjoy going on trips to the desert, where it's definitely a solo creative experience. I like to get lost in my own head when behind the camera. The people I work with usually understand that though, and just knowing that helps me feel comfortable when shooting. It's great to have people around that understand me, that like working really hard and enjoy being free—that’s what a lot of my work is about.

JM Who or what is inspiring to you?
DBS I think it would have to be film, music, and painting. Those are the most inspiring things to me. I watch a lot of Derek Jarman films. I've always been a fan of Wolfgang Tillmans. I love Kenneth Anger and Philip-Lorca diCorcia. Also Goya, David Hockney. I listen to music 24 hours a day. I listen to a lot of Brian Eno. I’m really into atmospheric music from the '70s, German techno, and folk music. Also Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, it's dark, industrial, raw… I’m drawn to that time period in music… I’ve been thinking lately how there's always something beautiful that comes out of society and culture when darkness enters a golden age. A lot of the music, literature, and art that I like has come out of an almost collapsed time in society. People have to create something because everything is crumbling around them. For an artist, it's a beautiful place to be, but it sucks for a lot of other people. When you're not making much money to begin with, it's a great time to be making art.

JM I love that you say that. It's so positive. People are saying, "Oh, the economy is so bad. Everything is so awful." Now is a good time for creative people to respond in their own beautiful ways.
DBS Luckily, that's how I've always made my artwork. I never really had money to make big productions. I'm not even attracted to work like that. I can't get ever get lost in big photo art productions because I end up thinking about how much money went into them. It's all about craftiness. I really enjoy seeing an artist’s hand in their artwork.

David's first solo show of photographs opens this September at Bellwether Gallery, NYC. His first book, It's Time, is out in the fall.

www.davidbenjaminsherry.com

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